Tomorrow and The Day After Tomorrow

Last updated on: July 21, 2016 at 6:42 pm By James F. McGrath

As weather forecasters are warning of a “polar vortex” set to bring record low temperatures in many areas, is anyone besides me thinking back to the apocalyptic movie “The Day After Tomorrow,” which envisaged global warming disrupting weather patterns, leading to a new ice age? The movie’s scenario is obviously ridiculously extreme, but it is frustrating to see people responding to recent weather forecasts by saying “See, it is cold, therefore global warming is a myth.” How can people not... Read more

Literal or Symbolic?

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 10:15 am By James F. McGrath

On Reddit I came across this wonderful bit of wisdom about interpreting the Bible, from an individual whose user name is SleetTheFox: “Whatever is supposed to be literal I interpret literal. Whatever is supposed to be symbolic I interpret symbolic. Whatever I have mischaracterized the intended meaning of, I interpret incorrectly.” That pretty much sums it up. Perhaps it needs to be turned into a song – “What does Sleet the Fox say?” Read more

#FirstCenturyProblems

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 9:15 am By James F. McGrath

Via Catholic Memes on Facebook Read more

Employers, Religion, and Insurance

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 8:39 am By James F. McGrath

Via the Daily Kos. Read more

The Relativity of Wrong

Last updated on: January 4, 2014 at 7:45 am By James F. McGrath

“[W]hen people thought the earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together.” — Isaac Asimov, “The Relativity of Wrong,” The Skeptical Inquirer 1989 Read more

Two Shekel Chuck

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 10:02 pm By James F. McGrath

It has been proposed that the above Hebrew inscription may have indicated that the vessel contained wine of the lowest quality. The article’s proposed connections with Solomon are pure speculation, but given the traditions connecting Solomon’s court with a school of wisdom, it is fun to ponder whether, then as now, grad students were among the consumers of the least expensive wine available… Read more

Uploaded to the Cloud

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 2:10 pm By James F. McGrath

This cartoon came to my attention via Facebook. I’ve long observed that the terminology we use for our files and information parallels the language some Christians use about the afterlife: “saved” and “lost.” And so I can readily see a technological metaphor catching on in reciprocal fashion. But is uploading the same thing as continuing to exist? Would that be you or a copy? The same philosophical issues confront both belief in resurrection and the hope to upload one’s mind... Read more

Google Glass in Class

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 1:33 pm By James F. McGrath

I have the opportunity to be one of the Google Glass Explorers and try out this new technology early. As someone who teaches information literacy skills, I’m very interested in seeing how it might or might not integrate into classroom use – whether by the professor alone, or at some point when most people have something similar. I’m trying to decide whether to take the plunge. One potential hiccup I can already foresee is that the introductory voice command appears... Read more

Sherlock and Geocentrism

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 9:48 am By James F. McGrath

One element in the first season of the BBC series Sherlock that sticks close to Arthur Conan Doyle’s original is the mention of Sherlock not knowing that the Earth orbits the sun. Here’s a clip of the scene: This mention of geocentrism actually makes an important point. It is possible to be incredibly gifted in one area and completely clueless in another. And this is relevant not just to the question of whether you trust a hydraulic engineer over the... Read more

The Experts Can Be Wrong

Last updated on: January 3, 2014 at 8:30 am By James F. McGrath

The inanity of the frequent refrain of peddlers of pseudoscience and pseudoscholarship that “Even the experts can be wrong” is perhaps best illustrated be comparison with expertise in another domain. Even professional musicians can play wrong notes. But that doesn’t make all players of instruments equal, nor does it make it equally or more likely that amateurs will get those same notes right. By way of illustration, here is Valentina Lisitsa playing one of Rachmaninov’s Etudes Tableaux: When someone asks... Read more